Not A Normal Documentary
by shadowxofxdarkness
Summary: Michelle Harker gets the chance of a lifetime to travel to the Amazon jungle for a documentary. Her expertise in snakes is what gets her there but not for the reason she expected. However, there is more hidden in the Amazon than she ever expected.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Anaconda. I only own Michelle Harker.

Story Start

Working at a zoo in the reptile department was always my dream job as a child, and I reached that dream. I had been working at the Atlanta zoo for the last few years, and I had even done a few internships with other zoos in my early years. I always worked in the reptile departments since that was my field of study. I loved snakes, chameleons, komodo dragons, and more. My colleagues are great people, but they don't always give me the highest respect since I'm only 27 years old.

Today was just another prime example of my knowledge based on years and experience coming into play. I was helping one of my coworkers handle the feeding of the alligators, and he was getting too close to the animal's strike zone. "Don't get that close, you know he's cranky when it's cold like this," I told Bill, who should have known that Rodney the alligator was always cranky during the cold months of Georgia.

"I know what I'm doing Michelle, I've done this longer than you anyways," Bill muttered. He was one of the ones who was afraid that I would take his position in the department, which with his performance today I probably could. However, I was all right with learning and growing as time went on, not striving to steal something from somebody.

"Fine, just don't be mad when Rodney," I started say before watching Bill jump back when Rodney curved his body and almost bit down on Bill's leg. "Never mind," I said before throwing my piece of raw chicken in the water towards Rodney to distract the gator before it decided to eat Bill for lunch instead.

"Don't say a word, Michelle," Bill snapped before tossing the chicken somewhere in the exhibit and storming outside.

"It'll warm up soon, Rodney, so try not to eat Bill again when you're cranky, even though he might deserve it some days," I said with a wink of my green eyes to the gator, who happily ate the chicken.

My walk back to the department building was fun since I got to watch little kids ooh and ahh over the amazing animals in the zoo. I wished I could actually go see these animals in their natural habitats, but I was paying off student loans still so I was not going to be able to afford a trip any time soon.

The door to the department building opened easily like normal, but all I heard upon entering the building was Bill complaining about Rodney and the gator's temper. It's an alligator, not a pet poodle, and the man needed to remember that unless he truly did want to lose something.

"He may live in a zoo, but he's not tame," Zoey, my other coworker and best friend, grumbled to Bill. She had been here even longer than Bill so she had superiority in the department. "Hey Michelle, your babies are hatched," Zoey said excitedly when she saw me and my heart jumped.

"Babies," I cheered before rushing to the birthing area in our department to see the new snake hatchlings. They were baby pythons and they were beautiful. Their scales glinted in the light because of the egg's fluid still on them. They were in a terrarium with a light over them, but the babies were already searching out the entire area for food.

"You guys are gorgeous," I whispered watching the babies in awe. I have always loved snakes. I used to catch them and just watch them slither on my hand and arms as a child. Of course, my mother threw a fit like any mom would. However, she calmed down a bit when I showed her that I knew which snakes were ok to pick up and which were not. She still did not like them or the fact that I spent hours hunting snakes just to enjoy spending time with them, but she got more used to it the older I got.

"I even have a pet snake at home," I thought remembering the day I found an albino python that had been abandoned near my house. I took it in, nursed it back to health, and then next thing I know, it's my best friend. I swear the snake acted more like a cat at times with how comfortable it was moving around my house and resting on my shoulders while I watched my afternoon shows. It was only 4 ft. long. It would not grow any bigger, which was perfect.

"I'll have to tell Luna about you guys when I go home today, she'll be happy to hear about you guys being born healthy," I whispered to the little snakes moving around in the terrarium. One of them looked up at me and its bright yellow serpentine eyes, just made me smile more. The zoo had some great new additions, but it still stung inside since I wish I could see how they are in the wild.

"Quitting time," Zoey shouted making me jump away from the terrarium containing the hatchlings. "You can go home and coo over a snake, those babies will be fine," she said playfully since she knew how obsessed with snakes I was. I even had black snake scales tattooed down my spine, which my family had no clue about at all.

"Oh shush, Zoey, go home and coo over your man," I told her with a laugh since she changed boyfriends every two weeks. I was a single woman who loved snakes, and she was a man-eater, who hated commitment.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go before the traffic is too bad," Zoey said while pushing me out of the department and to the parking lot. The chill on the breeze made me wish she had given me time to put on my coat or at least crank my car before I had to drive home.

My fingers were starting to turn purple as I sat shivering in my car while driving home. My car took forever to heat up, and my condition did not help. I had always been extremely cold natured since before I was born. My mother had a recessive gene that I inherited, which made my blood not flow properly. Therefore, I did not have as high of a body temperature, and I would freeze easier than most.

Getting home was always the most comforting part of the day. Luna was sitting contently under the large lamp that I left on in a corner of the living room. I never left it on in the summer, just the winter. She lifted her head and slowly uncoiled herself while I tossed my keys and bag to the coffee table.

"Hey Luna, the python babies hatched today at the zoo. They were adorable," I said happily while picking her up and putting her around my shoulders. I laughed as she rested her head on top of mine. "I take it you're happy to hear the news," I muttered while walking towards my answering machine, which was flashing.

"Ms. Harker, I'm Dr. Steven Cale, and I have heard about your extensive knowledge about the reptiles and other animals located in the Amazon jungle. I have been advised by my guides that having your expertise down here will help to keep my crew safe. I have already called your employer and spoken with him about you joining my expedition. He has given his consent, and your airfare and travel arrangements have already been made if you decide to accept. Please call me back," the answering machine continued to play as I stared at it in shock.

Luna rubbed her face against mine when I became still and tense. I rubbed her head with my hand before picking up the phone. I had always wanted something like this, some miracle like this to happen. How could I say no? "Dr. Cale, hi, yes this is Michelle Harker, I would love to join you on your documentary trip," I said without hesitation in my voice as I brushed some of my dark brown hair out of my face. "Looks like we're going on a trip, Luna," I thought happily as I went over the details and arrangements with Dr. Cale and then my boss at the zoo. "Time for my adventure," I thought happily wondering what the Amazon jungle had in store for me.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Anaconda. I only own Michelle Harker.

Story Start

The airports were the worst experience since I decided to take Luna with me on my trip to the Amazon. I was not too sure how Dr. Cale would react at her presence, but I was not leaving her alone at home. None of my family or neighbors would take care of her. Zoey loved reptiles, but she would not babysit and care for Luna either. She was too afraid that Luna would want to give her too tight of a hug.

Fighting through the crowds, I was able to grab Luna's cage and get outside to the car that would take me to the dock, where Dr. Cale and the film crew were going to be waiting for me. They had already been in the country for a week or more, and I still did not know all the details, but I was already enjoying being in a new country. The beautiful nature surrounding us as the car drove down the road just made my heart soar. I had never seen such beauty in such an untouched state.

"This will be fun, Luna," I whispered to her even though she was growing agitated in the cage and I did not blame her. I would have pulled her out, but the driver was giving her a terrified look even though she was locked in a cage. "Soon, we'll be on the boat and you'll be out," I told her before just letting my mind take in the beauty around us.

The rest of the drive was simple enough, but my nerves grew a bit when I realized that this truly was going to be an adventure on the Amazon River in the middle of the jungle. We would only have ourselves to keep each other safe. The jungle and river are beautiful but extremely dangerous. "I just hope my knowledge can help keep everybody safe and alive," I thought while exiting the car with my bag slung on my shoulder. The driver happily let me carry my bag and Luna's cage down to the dock after paying him.

"I'm used to humidity, but not this kind of heat," I muttered while walking down the stairs towards a large boat full of people walking around shouting different things. "Hello, I'm Michelle Harker, Dr. Cale invited me on the trip," I shouted as I stood on the dock beside the boat.

A beautiful woman with curly hair approached me with a big smile on her face. "Hi, I'm Terri Flores, the film director, nice to meet you Michelle," she introduced herself with a firm handshake before motioning for me to get on the boat.

"Thanks, are you excited to film the documentary?" I questioned her while being careful to step on the boat. I had not really been on many boats in my life.

"Of course, this is going to be great to film the people of the mist," Terri said as I set down Luna's cage so I could take off my bag.

"Ms. Harker, glad to see you could make it," a tall man with red hair said approaching Terri and I. "I'm Dr. Steven Cale, welcome aboard," he said holding out his hand, which I shook.

"Thanks for inviting me. I'm not sure what all I can do with my expertise out here but if we encounter any animals and mainly reptiles, then I'll be able to tell you to approach or stay far away," I said with a laugh, which made the pair smile.

"Oh Mateo, can you take her things into the sleeping quarters?" Dr. Cale questioned a man with long hair and a tough expression on his face.

"Yes," Mateo said and grabbed my bag easily from the boat floor, but I stopped him before he could touch Luna's cage.

"Wait, is that a cage? Why did you bring a cage?" a woman with short red hair questioned as she moved closer to a blonde haired man.

"Danny, watch out man," the blonde haired man said to the man wearing an LA hat, who was about to stick his face close to one of the air holes of the cage.

"I hope this won't be a problem, but I couldn't leave her at home," I told Dr. Cale while bending down to open the cage.

"She brought her dog," Danny, the man with the LA hat, scoffed as I opened the cage and was met with an unhappy Luna.

"Not exactly," I said with a smile as Luna slithered up my arm to rest on my shoulders.

"Snake," was shouted by many of the people on the boat.

Luna just happily stretched out her body on my shoulders and arms. She looked around at the boat occupants, but only a few did not seem terrified. A giggle escaped me when she rested her head on top of mine, which is one of her favorite things to do when she's comfortable.

"Denise, Gary, it's ok, she can control the snake," Terri calmed down the red headed woman and the blonde haired man. "I hope," Terri finished and I rolled my eyes.

"It's fine, Luna won't hurt you. I just didn't want to leave her at home because I knew nobody would take care of her and I'd come home to find her dead, and that was not going to happen. Anyways, she's family," I said simply before picking up Luna's cage and looking towards Mateo. "So where should I keep her cage?" I questioned him and he just smirked at me.

"This way," he said and I followed him into the boat to a room with a few beds in it and some of the other people's stuff. "She is a beautiful snake," he said almost reverently but it was almost like he had dollar signs in his eyes when he saw her.

"Thanks, I've had her for a few years now, she's part of the family," I said and rubbed the top of her head before leaving the room to get away from his stare. He seemed nice, but I did not like the look he was giving Luna, like he wanted to sell her.

"Be careful with that, it's fragile, expensive," a male's voice yelled in anger and frustration.

"Well Westridge is here now," Terri said as she and Dr. Cale stood close to the edge of the boat.

I walked over towards Danny, who was still eyeing Luna with distrust. "She won't hurt you," I told him softly before kissing the top of Luna's head.

"Well I'm not happy about the snake, but if you're that good with her then I'm glad you are going with us, nice to meet you, I'm Danny," he introduced himself and we shook hands.

"Michelle, nice to meet you too," I replied before the sound of heavy bags being dropped on the boat made me jump a bit.

"Is that a snake?" the new man, Westridge yelled in shock. "Why is there a person with a snake on this boat?" he shouted again and the whole explanation began again. Many introductions were done and everybody was wary of Luna, but I was just excited that the boat was now moving and we were starting the adventure. Having Luna here with me definitely helped me feel better and safer.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Anaconda. I only own Michelle Harker.

Story Start

"So how are you enjoying the ride so far?" Danny questioned me later that day after he had just finished filming Westridge talking about the beginning of the journey. He was sitting at a table putting away his camera.

"It's definitely going to be an interesting trip. I'm just happy I got the opportunity to come," I answered him happily as I took a seat at the table across from him. Luna had left my shoulders to rest on top of the canopy that was over the resting area at the back of the boat. I still did not like the look that I kept catching Mateo give her, but I knew she could take care of herself or find me quick enough.

"Well I know we haven't encountered any wildlife yet on the boat, so I hope you're not too bored," he continued before we got on the subject of Atlanta and Los Angeles. It was fun to just sit there and make friends with somebody new. It sounded like he had a great life back in Los Angeles, and he was not that fond of the jungle at all.

I was the complete opposite though because I loved the jungle. I was loving the jungle more and more that we passed down the river. My only issue is that I had not been able to get off this boat and actually explore a bit. I doubted I would get the chance since Mateo kept making the boat travel down the river nonstop at a steady pace.

Denise and Gary were flirting over in a corner, which was beginning to become normal on the boat. I had asked if they knew each other prior to this documentary, and Danny just rolled his eyes. He explained that those two had wanted to be with each other for a while, but something or someone always got in the way.

"They won't have any obstacles out here," I muttered to him, which just made him laugh.

He went to respond but a loud crack of thunder and lightning made the carefree atmosphere disappear on the boat. Luna was quick to slither back towards me to escape the rain. She hated storms. She would always hide or be near me whenever it would storm back home in Atlanta.

"It's ok," I whispered to her before helping Danny get his camera away from the rain that was now pouring down harshly into the river. You could almost not see the surroundings because of how hard the rain was coming down. "Well might as well enjoy the rain in the jungle on the first day I'm here," I muttered while walking to join Terri and speak with her for a bit.

Our conversation ended soon though since we heard a man shouting that he needed help because his boat broke down. Dr. Cale was quick to yell for Mateo to stop so the man could get on the boat. The look that Mateo gained on his face when he saw the man made me and Luna tense up. She was a good judge of character and I was getting better at judging when someone was hiding something, and Mateo seemed to have some secrets.

"And it has to do with that man," I thought as I watched a man with greying brown hair jump onto the boat and into Gary's arms. The two fell back on the boat as Terri, Danny, Mateo and I joined the others around the new man.

He was professing to the lord how happy he was that we came upon him and his boat. He was being extremely nice but something about him was giving me and Luna the creeps. I could tell she was uncomfortable because she was still tense and slowly tightening her coils around my arm. She had moved from being around my shoulders to being on my right arm with her head close to my neck. "She does this when she protects me, is he a danger?" I thought to myself while never letting my eyes miss the way Mateo kept staring at this new man.

"We can't go back, we have to keep going," Dr. Cale was saying to the new man, who immediately responded that the villagers at the next village could help him. "Let's get going, Mateo," Dr. Cale yelled to Mateo before turning his back on the new man.

"I don't trust him either, Luna," I thought when I heard Luna start to hiss at the man. I saw that Terri and Westridge also gave the man a suspicious glance before going back to what they were doing.

The man's blue eyes scanned the others on the boat before his eyes stopped on me and Luna. His eyes widened for a moment before a smile crossed his face, but the narrowing of his eyes made me glare back at him. Nobody had ever made Luna this uncomfortable, and I was not going to be blind to what she was telling me.

I disappeared into my own room to get away from this new man. I needed some time away from him to also help Luna calm down. I did not want her attacking the man since I knew the others would think they were next, and that would not be true. Luna slithered onto my bed after I sat down, but she made sure to stay in front of me so she was between me and the door.

"I don't trust him either, or Mateo now, this seems too perfect of a coincidence," I whispered as I pulled my favorite necklace, which I bought a long time ago, from underneath my shirt. I always kept it hidden because it had been a source of mockery for many years.

The necklace was of a snake totem that had a man being crushed by a large anaconda. I knew it was from a religion of people in this region, but it was also a totem representing the myth of the Naga. Ever since I first learned about them as a child, the Naga has always been a mythological creature that interested me. I knew there were legends of the Naga in the Amazon, but they were not as well known about as they are in Asia.

"They may or may not exist, but if they do then I would love to see them just once," I whispered even though meeting any Naga would probably mean my death, it would be worth it to see such an amazing mythological beast. "But let's not tell that to anybody out there unless I want them to think I'm crazy," I said with a laugh before deciding to just go to sleep. I had had enough for the first day in the Amazon, but I knew that Luna would probably stay awake and keep guard of the door in case Mateo or that new man tried to come into my room. I still did not trust either of them.

I barely knew anybody else on the boat, and people are known to do crazy things when in the jungle, but I trusted them more than Mateo and the new man. "I just hope that nothing too bad happens on this documentary," I thought before hiding the snake totem necklace back under my shirt and falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Anaconda. I only own Michelle Harker.

Story Start

The next morning, I woke up groggily to find Luna laying across my body as she stared at the door. Thankfully, the door was closed but it did make me a bit nervous that somebody had been there earlier or something. Luna turned her head to look at me when I moved slightly.

"Hey girl, did I miss anything fun?" I questioned her and she just turned back to look at the doorway. "Great, another day of not trusting people," I thought as I gently moved her so I could get out of the bed and put on fresh clothes.

Brushing my bedhead was a pain, but I was finally able to fix my hair into a braid so it would stay out of my way. Luna happily slithered onto my shoulders and arms before she tensed again. I put on a happy expression before leaving my room and joining the others at the back of the boat.

"Morning Michelle," Denise said happily even though she stared warily at Luna, who just smelled the air.

"Morning Denise, so what's for breakfast?" I questioned taking a seat on the floor of the boat by her. Luna slithered to sit in my lap where she could watch everyone easier.

"I don't know yet," Denise said with a shrug before she ran off to go talk to Gary, who was messing around with the sound equipment.

I stayed where I was and just breathed in the fresh air. The jungle was wide awake this morning as birds flew by and fish swam through the river around and under the boat. Luna had been relaxing, but I tensed when she did. The sound of boots approaching us made me look up to stare at the new man, who we had helped yesterday. I was slightly surprised to still see him on the boat.

"I'm Serone," he introduced himself but he did not hold out his hand for a handshake.

"Michelle, nice to meet you," I said being polite even though Luna was now wrapped around my shoulders and neck in an aggressive stance towards Serone.

"You like snakes?" he questioned as if it was obvious, which it was.

"I love snakes," I told him with a raised eyebrow as if daring him to try something. I had no clue who this man was, but for somebody who had lived here or been in this area for a long time, he should know better than to be stuck on the river.

"Good to know, that will be useful out here," he said as a greedy look appeared in his eyes. He tensed when Luna opened her mouth and hissed out at him aggressively. "Very useful," he muttered before walking away from Luna and me.

"Well that was weird and I officially will stay as far away from him as I can," I told Luna, who closed her mouth and loosened her hold on my body. She did not hurt me. She had done this many times when she felt I was being threatened.

The rest of the day passed by normally for the most part. My bad feeling about Serone and Mateo grew worse when Serone told how he stopped the career path of a religious man, and he came out here for the snakes. I now knew exactly what type of man because working at a zoo, you learn exactly how people are that catch animals just for the money. "Disgusting and dangerous," I thought as I made sure to keep distance between Serone, Mateo, and I the rest of the day. Mateo had tried multiple times to speak with me about Luna, but I would not give him the chance. I knew the others on the boat had not figured out what was going on yet, but they were soon going to be part of a hunt for snakes, but what kind? I had asked Dr. Cale earlier who suggested I join this trip, and it was Mateo. "Not everyone is going to make it out of this," I thought angrily as I gripped the necklace through my shirt. "I hope an anaconda eats those disgusting men," I thought in regards to Mateo and Serone.

Later that night Serone made himself in the good graces of everyone when he saved Gary and Denise from a wild boar. The two had been foolish enough to venture out into the jungle without any protection, but any opportunity for Serone to make himself look better was only helping his cause and making me tenser. I knew he could tell too because he would give me a shit eating grin every chance he got. Luna would not leave my side for anything.

"I just wonder when they are going to make their move," I thought to myself later that night when I was the only one awake on the back of the boat. Everyone else had either retreated to sleep in their beds or they were up in the captain's area talking. The lights on the boat were on so I was able to see a bit into the jungle surrounding us, but not much. Anything could be lying behind the foliage and I would not be able to see it. "Luna, this wasn't the trip I thought I volunteered for," I told her as she slithered around me on the boat. I looked around to make sure nobody was there before I pulled the necklace out from under my shirt. The totem would be creepy in anyone's mind, but it calmed me. "Not the trip I planned at all," I whispered before hearing Luna start hissing louder than I have ever heard before.

My eyes snapped up to scan the jungle around us, but my eyes were not seeing anything. Luna was though because she was staring down one certain spot and never losing her threatening stance. "What do you see?" I whispered calmly as I looked at the area she was staring down. My eyes took time to try to adjust, but soon I saw them, the yellow snake eyes staring at the boat with a hungry look. The boat's light flashed onto the snake briefly and I was able to see the anaconda scale pattern. The size of its head was massive, and it stared me down with no fear. "It has nothing to even fear," I thought as I kept its stare.

I watched the anaconda scent the air and Luna quickly rushed up my body to wrap around my shoulders and protect my neck. I knew if the snake wanted to kill me then Luna would not be able to stop it. Just judging from the size of its head, it was a massive creature. However, it was also, "beautiful," I whispered.

"Michelle, go on and get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow," Danny's voice inside the boat, but my eyes never left the anaconda's eyes.

"Just don't come out here," I thought to Danny as I watched the snake stop scenting the air and its eyes looked from me to Luna. It titled its head in almost what you could call curiosity before it disappeared into the forest.

"Michelle, get to bed girl, it's late," Danny shouted again and I rushed to my room not even caring that the totem pendant was still in plain sight.

"Luna, that shouldn't have happened. Snakes like that out here will happily kill a human, why did it look at us as if it was curious? Why didn't it attack?" I whispered while locking the door to my room and fussing with some books that I had brought with me. My books were about different snake behavior, but none of the books explained what just happened.

Luna flicked her tongue against the pendant around my neck and my eyes widened. She had never once bothered it or even touched it before but now she kept messing with the necklace around my neck.

"You're kidding me, don't you dare tell me that you know that nagas exist, you've been holding out on me if it's true," I whispered fervently as I picked up Luna and looked straight into her eyes. "You're telling me they exist aren't you," I whispered in shock as she gently bit down on the necklace and moved her head up and down. Luna then released the necklace and looked back at me. "You're either honestly telling me that nagas exist or I've lost my mind to jungle fever or something," I told her before hiding my necklace and opening another book about naga mythology.

There was no way I was going to be able to sleep tonight. Luna just stayed wrapped around me that night as I read, and she stayed as close to me as possible the next day too. I was a bit jumpy the next day, but it was because I kept staring at the water and jungle waiting for the anaconda to appear again. I had a hunch that it was going to be following the boat, but now I just wanted to know more. I wanted to know if it was truly a naga using its full snake form, and if it would ever appear in its naga form in front of me. I had many doubts I would see the true naga form if the snake actually was more than just an ordinary naga, but I was not going to lose hope. I had dreamed for years of seeing true naga, and there are many mysteries in jungles. Nagas could be here.

My thoughts of nagas existing grew even stronger when the next day the boat floated past a giant totem that looked exactly like my necklace. "It has to be true," was the only thing that ran through my mind until the totem was no longer in sight of the boat. Serone tried to tell everyone that the people of the mist worshiped giant snakes, and I did not know if this was true or not, but I did know that we had to be heading somewhere sacred for the snakes. "Now the question is, are they just snakes or more?" I thought while moving to the back of the boat again.

My focus on the nagas diminished completely when the boat stopped because of ropes being jammed in there. "It's begun," I thought worriedly as I saw Serone and Mateo give each other knowing looks when the boat stopped.

Dr. Cale volunteered to unjam the ropes, but he was practically signing his death wish early. I stayed far away from the others and close to the boat's edge as he disappeared under the water. Silence permeated the boat until splashing water notified us all that something was wrong. Gary dove into the water and saved Dr. Cale from drowning, and Terri was the first to drop to his side in fear. She was crying and fretting rapidly as Serone took control of the situation. Luna hissed angrily as a poisonous wasp was taken from Dr. Cale's mouth and then Serone created an airway for Dr. Cale by cutting open his throat.

"It was all a setup and it's only going to get worse," I thought as Terri and Serone talked about going this way or that to find the nearest village to save Dr. Cale's life. Terri was too worried about Dr. Cale to realize that Serone was now going to take over and lead them to where his precious snakes were.

"I don't like this," I heard Danny whisper to Terri and I agreed wholeheartedly.

The boat continued to journey down the river and during that time I could have sworn that I caught sight of the anaconda again multiple times. Every time I saw it, Luna would become tense and ready for a fight, but the anaconda only gave me that curious look again before disappearing back into the foliage of the jungle. The others had not seen it and I doubted that Serone or Mateo had seen it, which was slightly amusing seeing as they were the snake poachers. Slowly the boat came to a stop and I looked ahead to see a barrier.

"Just like in the legend," I thought as I remembered from the book I read last night that there was a barrier blocking the entrance to the territory of the nagas. The barrier was made to look like normal men made it, but in reality there was supposed to be tons of baby snakes inside the barrier as a breeding area. True nagas were not born or kept there, but normal anacondas would be. "Let's hope I'm wrong for the sake of all these people," I thought looking at all the others on the boat.

Gary volunteered to help Serone blast away the barrier and I waited with bated breath at the result of blowing up the barrier. The screams of terror when so many baby and young anacondas fell onto the boat made my heart sink and yet jump at the same time. It was all true, the barrier legend was real, and if I was right then so would the naga legend.

Luna hissed at all of the babies slithering around us, and I froze when I heard a louder hiss from the water behind me where I was standing at the edge of the boat. The baby anacondas that had been around me slithered away to go be near the others. Luna was hissing angrily at the water behind me, and I slowly turned around to see the large anaconda in the water. Its head was barely poking out of the water's surface so I still had no true indication of its size, but it just tilted its head again at me.

"You're a naga," I whispered never losing contact with the snake's eyes. "You're not just a normal anaconda, you're a naga and we're about to run into more nagas as well, aren't we?" I whispered to the snake.

If snakes could smirk then I swear it was as it lifted its head out of the water and touched its face to my feet when nobody was looking. Everyone was too busy worrying about Westridge, who now had a baby anaconda trying to swallow his finger.

"Are you going to kill me?" I continued wanting to at least know if I should be ready to die or ready to try to fight. The snake shocked me to the core when it ran its head up against my leg and then shook its head before disappearing into the water.

"Michelle, are you all right?" Terri shouted over to me since she was on the other side of the boat with a lot of snakes separating us.

"I don't know," I told her honestly as I felt my heart threatening to jump out of my chest at what just happened.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Anaconda. I only own Michelle Harker.

Story Start

Everyone calmed down a small bit after all of the snakes were no longer on the boat. Luna was still around my shoulders looking at the surroundings with more paranoia than I knew she was even capable of having. She stayed wrapped around my neck with the rest of her body tense and ready for a fight. "Luna, honey, squeeze any tighter and you won't have anyone to protect," I told her softly so nobody else would hear as I ran a hand down her scales. She looked at me for a few seconds before slowly loosening her hold on me, but she stayed around my neck and shoulders. She made sure to keep her head at the front of my neck.

"She's terrified something is going to happen to me," ran through my head as the day passed on with the entire crew tense and wary of Serone.

Afternoon came upon all of quickly and as we went further down the river, we saw an old boat sitting in a shallower part of the river. Serone immediately yelled over to the abandoned looking boat, and no one answered him. Gary and Danny started saying how maybe there was more fuel because unfortunately we were running low thanks to the baby snakes knocking the gas tanks into the river hours ago. The women on the boat were not happy about the idea, but I kept my mouth shut. I was not going to say a yes or a no to this idea so maybe they would forget about me. I was mistaken though when annoying Gary just had to smile over at me and say how I should join in case we run into any more snakes or other creatures.

"No, she doesn't need to go out there, it's dangerous," Terri yelled and grabbed my hand.

"She's an expert with snakes and the other creatures here. She works in a zoo for goodness sakes. She hangs out in the alligator pin for fun," Gary defended him volunteering me.

"Ok that's true," I muttered and Terri just shook her head and threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Hurry up and be careful," Terri exclaimed before walking over to stand and calm down Denise.

"Don't worry, it'll be ok," Danny whispered to me even though he was also nervous as we all jumped down into the water.

Luna had slithered onto the top of the boat's canopy so she could watch everything. I did not want her in the river with me if I could help it. She was not happy I could tell from her loud hissing, but she stayed where she was. I stayed close to Danny as we walked through the water, which came up to my chest. I was definitely nervous about getting on that boat. My nerves grew even more with how comfortable Serone and Mateo seemed when approaching the boat. They must have known who owned this boat, which might have been another snake poacher. "Great, just great," I grumbled as I hopped onto the boat and started looking around for fuel or anything else useful. The other guys went separate ways, but Mateo and Serone seemed to walk with a certain purpose. "Yup another snake poacher," I thought as I noticed the different tools that were lying around the area of the boat I was walking through. I kept an eye out for the naga that had been following us. Without having Luna to be my warning system, I was more nervous about it popping out of nowhere, but I prayed I actually understood it correctly that it was not going to kill me.

"Don't be ridiculous, Michelle," I chastised myself before Danny's yell made me stop paying attention, which was a big mistake. I could not even scream when my feet were swept out from under me and I fell off the boat into the water. I tried not to splash or panic too much since I knew that the anaconda was definitely in the water with me. I righted myself and wiped the water out of my face. My eyes widened when I was face to face with the snake. "Hi there," I whispered almost afraid to breathe.

Shouts from inside the boat notified me that the guys were leaving me where I was, alone with a giant anaconda, and nobody knew about it. My mind focused back on the fact that a snake was right in front of me, but a gasp left me as the snake turned into its naga form. The dark skin and muscular chest was what I first saw, before I looked up and looked into its face. He was male and his yellow serpent eyes shone amongst the dark green scales surrounding his brow bones and cheek bones. He had long dark black hair with black horns sticking out on his head. The fanged teeth greeted my sight when he opened his mouth and hissed at me, but I could not understand him. The naga spoke again but I just shook my head slowly and the naga frowned before his clawed hands grabbed me.

A yelp left me when another splash sounded in the water. Yells for Mateo and me were filling the air from the others, and I could hear sounds of splashing and struggling going on near me. From the corner of my eye, I saw another anaconda wrap around and kill Mateo. A shiver raced through me, which the naga holding me felt, and he gave me a small smirk. I stared back up into the naga's eyes wondering what he was going to do and I was soon answered when he pulled me closer to him before biting into my neck. "Please don't kill me," I prayed mentally as I felt the fangs glide into my neck and small trickles of blood ran down my skin.

"My name is Alaric," a masculine voice whispered into my mind as my ears heard hissing when the naga released my neck. The naga wiped away from the blood from my neck as he watched me for a reaction.

"You just spoke in my mind, how?" was all I could stutter out as I was pulled closer to the naga when movement in the water behind me surprised me.

"There is much for you to learn, Michelle," Alaric spoke again in hisses, but his words rang through my mind as if he were speaking English.

"Alaric, we must go," a new male voice said and I saw out of the corner of my eyes that the snake that had killed Mateo was in the water beside me and Alaric.

"Go back to the others, Michelle, and quickly," Alaric told me before he returned to his anaconda form right in front of my eyes.

"Danny, Terri, wait," I immediately screamed when I found my voice again. I waded through the water past Mateo's dead body as quickly as I could. I had to make it back to the boat before Serone decided it would be perfectly all right to just keep going.

"We are not leaving until we get Michelle and Mateo," Terri's voice screamed as I was fighting my way through the water and plants.

"I'm not dead, wait," I screamed again but not in a frantic way, just in a way that got the point across that they better wait.

"Michelle, get up here," Danny shouted spotting me first before everybody else. I was actually surprised to see that Luna was resting on Danny's shoulders as I finally made it to the boat. He grabbed my hands and helped me onto the boat before Terri pulled me into a surprisingly strong hug. Luna then took that opportunity to slither onto my shoulders. She tensed when she smelt the presence of the nagas on my neck and around my body. She butted her head against my cheek before resting on my neck.

"I'm ok, I'm ok, but we need to leave," I told the rest of the people on the boat.

"We can't leave Mateo," Denise said this time.

"He's dead, I saw an anaconda kill him. He's not coming back and we need to keep going," I told all of them thinking about what the anacondas had said.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Anaconda. I only own Michelle Harker.

Story Start

The boat was being driven by Westridge, who was not happy about the job, but he was not going to get Serone's wrath towards him just yet. The others were either talking amongst themselves or glaring angrily at Serone. Serone just walked around like he owned the place. I kept Luna close because she looked ready to dive into the water and try to pick a fight with an anaconda. She was slithering all over me to get rid of the scent that Alaric left on me. I was still in shock at the idea that I had seen a real life naga and spoken with him. I could barely believe it was all real, but seeing Mateo's dead body nearby had solidified the reality of the event in my mind.

"Luna, what's going to happen to us now?" I whispered as Serone shot down a monkey to use as bait the next morning. He and Gary had sometime become rather chummy with each other throughout the night when we had been sleeping. "Why are you using that to attract the anaconda to us?" I snapped angrily because I knew that only drawing the nagas to us would make the others on this boat die faster. I might even die faster because of Serone's actions. Luna stared at the dead monkey for a bit before hiding her face behind my hair. "Do you want these people to die any faster?" I shouted at him and then threw Mateo in his face.

"We need bait to catch the anaconda, and if you need to be the bait then that will work. However, I would rather have your help then use you as bait," Serone said back with his unnerving smirk.

"I will not help you trap and cage an anaconda," I shouted at him angrily as my nerves and worry for everyone on this boat were getting to me. If we were dealing with just a normal anaconda then I might be able to actually help a bit, but we weren't. We are dealing with nagas. Nagas that are only protecting their territory from invaders.

"Then do not get in the way," Serone snapped back at me before hooking the monkey to a rope before tossing it into the water.

"This is going to be bad, and you're a greedy fool, both of you," I shouted at Serone and Gary before walking to stand beside Danny and Terri. Terri had spent most of the time watching over Dr. Cale, who was not doing any better, but thankfully he was not doing any worse.

"What the hell are we going to do now?" Danny snapped.

"First chance you get, push Serone in the water when the snake is around us," I offered and they gave me contemplative looks.

"I have a better idea, but we shouldn't try it yet," Terri whispered.

"I still like my idea," I thought while petting Luna's head when I felt her tensing up again.

"Your idea is quite amusing," Alaric's voice sounded in my mind and I tried to hide how much I jumped.

I blamed the boat and river before walking to my room in the boat. Luna looked at me confused as she slithered off my shoulders and onto my bed. "Alaric, where are you?" I whispered almost afraid to breathe. I was definitely excited, don't get me wrong, but I was still in a life or death situation because I did not know if the nagas would kill me too. Luna settled on my lap as my window, which was on the side of the boat in a slightly hidden area, was pushed open by an anaconda's head. Luna rose her body and was hissing profusely as the snake slithered more into my room until there was enough so it could transform into Alaric's naga form.

"The others on this boat are fools," Alaric said simply before the sounds of screams and loud hissing erupted outside of my room.

"Terri, Danny," I screamed and went to rush out of my room, but two strong arms latched around my waist.

"You will not leave," Alaric's voice shouted in my mind.

"I have to help them," was all I shouted stubbornly while trying to struggle out of his grip. The feel of his hot breath made me shudder before a scream left me. His fangs had found a place once again in my neck and this time it felt like they were on fire. Throughout the pain, Alaric's voice tried to soothe me as a clawed hand ran over my stomach underneath my shirt.

Luna went to attack Alaric, but he kept her away from us with his tail. She was no match for him and I whimpered for him to not hurt her. She was family to me and I would not lose her in all of this chaos. The screams from outside were growing louder and so were the hisses from the anaconda that was attacking the crew. My struggles died down at the fire from the bite had traveled through my entire body. I was exhausted and felt like I was going to pass out from the pain of the bite.

"You will be safe now," Alaric whispered to me in my mind as his fangs left my neck. I expected to feel blood trickle down my collarbone, but it never did. He turned me around to have us look eye to eye with each other before he gently laid me down on my bed. Luna took that opportunity to slither onto the bed and sit on my stomach while staring at Alaric in a challenging manner. She was as stubborn as I was for the most part. Alaric chuckled before he turned into his snake form and disappeared out of the window.

Denise's scream for Gary made my heart jump but the exhaustion from the bite was still pulling me under slumber's control. Luna hissed worriedly as she slithered over to look out the window before coming back to my side. Denise's cries and scorn towards Serone was the last thing before I fell asleep. Flashes of Alaric smiling down at me was all I could think of while I slept.

"How did you sleep through all that?" was the first thing I heard when I returned to consciousness. I woke up to see Danny staring down at me confused and also worn out.

"Danny, what's wrong? What happened?" I questioned as I slowly sat up in the bed. My body still felt strange after Alaric's bite yesterday, but I did not have time to worry about that with the look Danny was giving me.

"Gary was killed by the anaconda last night, but Terri's plan worked and we have Serone tied up. He's unconscious right now, but we stopped him. Now we just have to get out of here," Danny said as he walked with me out of the quarter's area and onto the back of the boat.

Denise was being consoled by Terri, but when the two women saw me they rushed over to give me a hug. I was shocked to say the least, but I tried to comfort Denise as much as I could when she broke down into tears. I was not the best at comforting anybody. Terri pulled back with a smile to see I was all right before frowning and moving her hand to touch my neck. "What happened to your neck?" she asked in surprise.

"What do you mean?" I questioned hoping my acting skills were good enough.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me into her room where there was a mirror. She shoved me in front of her so I could get a better look at my neck. A gasp left me when my neck had black spots forming around the area where Alaric bit me two times now. Terri spun me around and started asking if it was any spider or bug that bit or stung me, but I truly did not know what to say to her. She kept freaking out about it since Dr. Cale was still bedridden thanks to a wasp.

"Terri, I'm not feeling ill. All right, I'm fine, just breathe. If I feel bad or any a little bit nauseous, I will let you know," I assured her with my hands on her shoulders.

"Ok, sorry, I just," Terri said and I pulled her into a hug.

"We are going to get him help, ok, Dr. Cale is not going to leave you," I told her softly and she just nodded before she pulled herself together.

"Let's get out of this jungle," Terri said with a new determination and we left her room. She went up to join Westridge to drive the boat. Danny and Denise stayed on the back of the boat with me. Luna had joined me once again even though she was looking at the black spots on my neck with an annoyed look. I had a creepy feeling that the spots were going to turn more scale like as the time passed.

"You will die out here without my help," Serone said to me after he woke up.

"No, you're the one that's going to die out here. You have no idea what you are dealing with out here, poacher," I hissed down at him angrily. "You're going to get every one of these people killed for your greed," I continued and my anger rose at the audacity he had to smirk in his situation.

"Money is the most important," he started to reply but I kicked him in the face as hard as I could.

"Finally, I've been wondering when you were going to hit him," Danny yelled as I walked away from a now bloody Serone. His nose has been broken from my kick.

"He needs to stop talking every once and a while," I told Danny with a smirk before looking at Denise, who looked ready to murder Serone. I had no doubt she would attempt to kill him at least once.

The view of a beautiful waterfall made everyone stop glaring at Serone, but of course, the beauty was disrupted because the boat crashed up onto a bank of sand. Dread filled all of us as we knew that we would need to somehow get out of this mess. We were also still being followed by one or more nagas, but everyone else only thought they were anacondas. Westridge and Terri immediately started making a plan on how to get the boat free. I just hoped we did not meet any trouble when we went to put our plan into motion.


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Anaconda. I only own Michelle Harker.

Story Start

Dread filled me when the plan was finalized. Westridge was going to go to one tree and tie a rope around it. Terri and Danny were going to go to roots in the river together, and I was going to go to a tree on the other side of the boat near the jungle. My heart was definitely racing at the fact that Denise was going to be left alone on the boat with Serone, who looked way too smug about that.

"He's not worth it, don't go near him, please," I whispered to Denise and gave her a pat on the shoulder before gently sliding into the river. I did not want to make a splash and attract any more attention than necessary. Luna was on my shoulders because she refused to be left on this boat this time. She was even more tense than usual as I waded through the water while holding the rope to get to a strong looking tree.

I was halfway there when a struggle erupted on the boat. Spinning around quickly, my eyes widened in horror as I saw Serone strangle Denise before kicking her body off the boat. "No," I screamed and went to rush back to the boat, but something latched around my legs and immobilized me. My body froze at the feel of scales brushing against my legs.

"You've been claimed," a new male voice hissed in my mind before the anaconda's head shot out of the water to stare me straight in the eyes. "Alaric's scent," he hissed again before the noise from the boat made him look behind him.

Danny was being bitten on the shoulder by another anaconda while Westridge was yelling to attract it and Terri was fighting with Serone. I wanted to help them so bad or even ask the naga to help them, but he still had his coils wrapped around me tightly. With a satisfied noise, the naga looked back at me before noticing Luna, who looked ready to strike at it.

"She will not be harmed, serpent," the naga hissed before we all disappeared under water.

I barely had enough time to take a large breath before the water covered Luna and me entirely. The struggle to not panic was high as the naga swam through the water with no problem while still holding onto me. A quick prayer was all I could think about as we were taken who knows where, and the others were left to fend for themselves. I also prayed that Serone got what was coming to him. He did not deserve to live after what he has been doing to draw the attention of the nagas to the others. My still being alive was a complete miracle right now because I should have been killed the same day that Mateo died.

The naga let out an annoyed sound in my mind when my oxygen reserve in my lungs was becoming lower and lower. I started to hit its tail and body as best I could to get the point across that I was going to die and drown soon if I did not get some air. With another annoyed sound, the naga sped up and soon I was tossed out of the water onto some sand. I coughed and fought to catch my breath while Luna descended from my shoulders to let me breathe easier. She had stayed wrapped around my neck and shoulders the entire time.

"That form can be so constricting," the male naga hissed as he transformed into his naga form before my eyes. He had braided long black hair that was pulled back with colorful braided rope. He had more markings on his face and body than Alaric, and most of them looked like scars as well. He had one broken horn as well. "You're lucky you were marked so you were not killed like the others of your kind will be, but wait, it seems Alaric did more than just mark you for safety," the naga continued to talk as he left the water and slithered towards me.

I backed away as much as I could while still trying to remember what fresh air entering my lungs feels like. My back bumped into a rock wall and I just realized we were in some kind of cave system, which had enough of an opening at the top for sunlight to stream in the area. The naga continued to approach me and I had nowhere to run. I couldn't outrun him. I didn't even know why I had been saved.

"Why me?" I questioned as he paused only inches away from my face.

"Because you interested him. We have not seen humans besides the tribe nearby, who worship us, in a long time. Your companionship with this serpent also increased his intrigue. Alaric is of a curious nature, which is common in our kind who possess magic. If he has more reasons for saving you, then you will have to ask him yourself. Now come, you are to meet Alaric and our king, Szayel," the naga stated firmly and wrapped one of his clawed hands around one of my arms.

Luna wrapped around one of my legs before slithering up to rest around my waist. She stayed away from the naga's hand on my arm even though she looked ready to bite it off. I hoped she did not try anything because this was crazy enough, and I did not want to lose her during all this. I was still worried about the others since it sounded like the nagas went there to kill all of them, but the tight grip on my arm brought me back to my new reality.

I was stumbling along through some type of cave system beside the male naga, who was moving along with no issues. He would just grumble annoyed whenever I would trip or stumble in the dark. The cave did have small bits of sunlight that would stream down from cracks in the rocks above, but not enough for me to see and function normally. I was also sure that my arm was going to be a bit bruised as well when he finally let go of me.

My heart jumped in its chest when we finally reached an area with torches adorning the halls of the cave. More nagas were wandering around throughout the halls, but they froze when they either saw or smelled me. Their forked tongues flicked out to catch my scent, and I wished I had a scarf when their eyes immediately went to my neck, where Alaric had bitten me.

"King Szayel has been waiting," one of the two nagas in armor said outside of the two large doors in the hall, where many of the nagas were wandering.

The other naga in armor opened the door, and soon Luna and I were pulled into a room full of so many nagas. I wanted to die right then and there with how large and intimidating the nagas were in this room, but they were also so captivating. I had always dreamed of seeing them and here I was, standing in a room full of the king of these nagas, Alaric, and many other powerful and imposing looking nagas. Some had jewels or gold on their scales and horns. Others had battle wounds and terrible scars that only added to their uncaring appearance.

Luna looked up at me worriedly and I had never seen her so afraid before. The naga holding me finally released my arm and I immediately cradled Luna closer to me. I knew she would be safer than me, but I just wanted to comfort her. My eyes focused on Alaric, who was smiling widely at the fact that I was standing there ready to pass out or run for it like a madwoman. However, the sparkle of ruby and a small chuckle made me look at the naga sitting in a golden throne at the head of the room.

He had long dark red hair that had a few braids with gold jewelry entwined in the braids. His horns were pure gold and he had black almost tribal type markings made of scales on his chest, arms, and face. A gold necklace hung around his neck and a ruby jewel rested in the center. Overall, he was gorgeous but the aura around him made my hair on the back of my neck stand up straight. He rose from his throne and slowly approached me as his chuckle continued.

"Alaric, I told you to bring me something from the trespassers, I did not know that you brought me a mate, well at least after she has completed the change," the deep and sultry voice of the King naga, Szayel, hissed with a smirk on his face.

"You have been lonely long enough, my king, I thought you would enjoy a queen. She has been very kind to the serpent in her arms, and I thought she would make a perfect female companion for you. Are you displeased my king? I did not want to disrespect your wish for all of the trespassers to die, but she seemed different from the others," Alaric said while bowing his head waiting for the king's judgment.

"Alaric, the other humans will die, that is no concern of mine. However, I am pleased with your choice, very pleased. Take her to my chambers, I will speak with her later. Alaric, you will make sure that her change completes as quickly as possible," Szayel spoke as he ran a clawed hand over my cheek and down my neck before he left the room with a few warrior looking nagas following him.

"Michelle, this way," Alaric spoke in a calming way but I was about ready to have a mental breakdown.

"What change? What does he mean I'm changing? Alaric, what did your bite do? His queen, I'm not even a naga, I'm not even part snake at all," I practically shouted not even caring that unknown nagas were in the room with us still.

"You'll be all right, Michelle, this is a good thing," Alaric said and something weird happened with his eyes. They started to become cloudy and my consciousness started to slip away as he whispered soothingly while his eyes continued to cloud. "You'll be fine, you'll make a wonderful queen," was the last thing I heard before completely succumbing to unconsciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Anaconda. I only own Michelle Harker.

Story Start

Disoriented and angry was how I woke up hours later. I looked around with blurry eyesight to see that I was lying in some type of nest like bed made out of pillows and fine silks. An angry growl left me when my headache made itself known. Running my hand through my hair to massage my head made me freeze. My fingernails were sharper than I remembered. Looking down at my other hand, I yelped at the sight of strong black claws where my fingernails used to be.

"Good, you're awake, I was so worried," a feminine voice hissed in the room and my head snapped in every direction to see if a naga had slithered into the room. "Down here, Michelle," the voice hissed again a little bit annoyed.

"Luna, you can talk," I shrieked and fell back on the cushions in my shock.

"I've always been able to talk. You just haven't always been able to understand me," Luna said with her head held high as she slithered to sit on my stomach.

"Luna, what happened after Alaric made me unconscious?" I questioned as I sat back up to stare at Luna,but something shining on my ankles made me sit up a bit more and move her gently to the side.

"The king of the nagas, Szayel, came in here to check on your progress and to talk to me. Don't worry, I already told him all your secrets, which are none," Luna said and I had no clue I had such a playful and sarcastic snake.

"Luna, what do you mean by progress? What am I progressing towards?" I questioned shakily as I sat up and touched my ankles. The realization hit me like a bag of bricks as I felt and saw the black and dark red scales on my legs.

"They're making you a naga so you can be the king's mate," Luna started explaining as I looked at the rest of my legs. I was barely listening to Luna as I took off my pants and shouted at the sight of the scales appearing all over my legs. I lifted my shirt and even saw some on my rib cage. "I know you don't know him well and I haven't formed an opinion on him yet, but he's definitely a strong mate. He'll be able to protect you and your young well," Luna continued speaking.

"Why in the world are you talking about babies? I'm turning into a naga here, I'm kind of freaking out. The baby talk does not need to be brought up today or ever," I snapped frightened before closing my eyes tightly as my headache grew worse and my eyesight was becoming more sensitive.

"You two will have such cute babies though, I'm godmother," Luna said happily before slithering close to me to wrap around me in comfort. "I'm sorry you're hurting. At least you aren't suffering like those other humans," she said softly and my eyes snapped open no matter the pain.

"Luna, we have to help them, we have to," I muttered as I struggled to stand up. I still had my stubbornness and two legs to get me there, so I had to at least try to save Danny and Terri's lives. "Hang on tight Luna, we're getting out of here," I said with gritted teeth as more pain shot through my skull and even now my mouth. Fangs were starting to elongate.

"How are we even going to get out of here?" Luna hissed as quietly as we could as I poked my head outside the door to see if any guards were outside. I was shocked to see that nobody, not even Alaric, was outside watching the door. "Well I call this slacking," she hissed as I started stumbling down the halls as fast as I could. I hid in the shadows or behind alcoves when nagas would appear.

I had been lucky so far as I reached the pool of water where the warrior from earlier brought me. Luna started protesting that I was too weak while being in the process of changing, but I had to at least try and warn Terri and Danni. I knew I was losing some strength because the pain level was intensifying with every step I took. "I have to do this," I whispered before diving in the water with Luna wrapped around my waist. I swam as quickly as I could. The underwater tunnel was longer than I remembered, but I finally reached the surface. With deep breaths, I felt Luna start swimming beside me as I tried to locate the boat. Serone must have gotten it off the bank because it was nowhere in sight. My headache was even worse now and I could barely see thanks to my eyes changing and not being used to the sunlight, but I was finally able to make out the shape of the boat and some old factory.

"They're in there, I hear them," Luna hissed beside me before slithering onto the dock.

"I do too," I said as Terri and Danny's yells filled the air. An angry naga's hisses were filling the air as well as Serone's laughter. "I hope they kill him first," I thought angrily as I gripped the dock and went to pull myself up. Pure agony ripped through my spine and legs. Luna's scream was the last thing I heard as my hands slipped free of the dock and I plunged under water.

The water seemed more than happy to surround me as the pain became blinding. My legs were on fire and the sounds of bones crunching, extending and thinning, made me gasp for air but only take in water. Luna's screams for help were still barely reaching my ears as more scales appeared on my body and my legs slowly disappeared and started to become a long tail. The transformation should have been the scariest part, but the pain was too much for me to even swim to the top. I was going to drown before I even finished becoming a naga. The feeling of the water rushing around me made me open my eyes.

Szayel was under the water with me. He wrapped his arms around me and quickly pulled us out of the water and onto the bank on the other side of the river. He pulled us further into the forest as I coughed up the water I inhaled and swallowed. His face was stony and angry before he immediately started saying how I have a death wish. Luna slithered over to join us and she was fretting over me. The pain was still there but as I looked down at where my legs used to be, all I saw was a dark crimson naga tail. More scales lined up stomach and rib cage, but my shirt covered the rest from view.

"Szayel, I don't have a death wish, but I had to at least try and warn my friends about the attack. Terri and Danni didn't come here to hurt the naga, the man Serone did. Terri and Danni deserve to live and get out of here. I promise you they won't be back, just call off the attack on them, please," I spoke loudly to stop his ranting. It felt good to know he was worried even though he didn't know me, but I still had to help Terri and Danni, and Dr. Cale if he's alive. "Just let them leave alive, please," I whispered as he approached me and placed a hand under my chin.

"You care for them, I understand that, but they have trespassed in our territory. If they can escape alive then they are worthy of living, but it is too late to call off the attack now. Now, we must return home to keep you safe. You are going to be feeling pain and sickness until your transformation has completely settled. You will stay with me," Szayel said in a soft but unquestioning tone.

"They're strong and smart, they'll survive," Luna whispered to me as Szayel picked me up and he disappeared under the water to take us back to the tunnel. I gasped for air before we went under, but he gave me a small smirk.

"You can breathe underwater now," he spoke to me mentally and poked my stomach, which made me breathe in. I thought I would take in a lot of water, but I didn't.

"So what happens now?" I thought and wondered if my thought went to him.

"You will learn our ways, become my mate, we will have children together, and live our lives as rulers of our people," Szayel's voice spoke softly and encouragingly to me.

"Never thought I'd be a queen," I thought back with a small smile. I didn't have many options now that I had changed into a naga, and I had even less options since the king had claimed me as his.

"You'll make a great queen and a wonderful mother," Szayel said and that was really one of the first things he said that earned him some points in my book.

"I think we might work out after all," I thought with a small smile before just letting myself relax as Szayel broke the surface of the water and we were back in the tunnel systems of the naga kingdom. "Well when we do have children then I know who is going to babysit," I thought while thinking of Alaric. I had to have some kind of payback since he did this to me without my permission.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Anaconda. I only own Michelle Harker.

Story Start

"They're so cute," Luna cooed down at the new little ones that I had recently had.

The little boy and girl, Danny and Terri, were happily swaddled in their crib area in Szayel and I's room. Luna was sitting on my shoulders staring down at them. She was a proud aunt, especially since these weren't here first set of nieces and nephews. My first set of children, Melody, Armin, and Jeremy, were with Uncle Alaric. In other words, they were tormenting the guy and they did their job so well.

I had been amongst the naga for five years now and it definitely took some getting used to the culture and how to actually be a naga. I remember freaking out and wanting to curl up in a corner the first time I actually made the full transformation to my snake form. It had been magnificent and terrifying at the same time. Luna and Szayel helped me calm down, but I still had issues when I would see my reflection.

Szayel had surprisingly turned out to be a wonderful mate. I was afraid he'd be uncaring and distant until mating times, but he was the complete opposite. He was especially a big surprise in the father department. He loved the kids as much as I did, and he was a great father to them. He also helped me become more comfortable with the role of being Queen of his people, well our people. I thought I would never be comfortable with the responsibilities, but I slowly gained confidence. I even had a lot of friends amongst the people, and they were more welcoming than I thought they would be. I still got made fun of sometimes for having legs for most of my life.

"Michelle, babysitting time is over for the day," Alaric's strained voice sounded from outside the door.

"Oh, I don't know Alaric," I said in a teasing tone and laughed outright when Alaric pushed the door open and fell down with my three children on his back.

"Please Michelle, they're killing me here," Alaric practically begged and I smirked.

"Hey kids, who wants a hug from mom and Aunt Luna?" I questioned and my three happy children quickly slithered over to us for their hugs. "Did you guys have fun with Uncle Alaric?" I asked them sweetly as I kissed their foreheads softly.

"It was so much fun, mom," Melody said excitedly.

"Yeah, we played hide and seek and learned some new magic from Uncle Alaric," Armin and Jeremy said at the same time. They were good at being in sync with each other even though sometimes it could get a little annoying.

"Well I'm glad, but tomorrow you won't get to hang out with Uncle Alaric," I said and paused at the sad noises. "Because you'll be spending time with your father and me in the throne room," I said and smiled at the exuberant cheers.

"But only if you three take your baths and sleep all night tonight," Szayel said as he appeared in the room after Alaric had made his quick escape.

"Dad," the trio cheered and rushed out of my arms to Szayel, who happily scooped all three of them up in his arms. He gave me a happy smile and a quick kiss before disappearing into the bathing area with the children.

"Well isn't he sweet," Luna quipped and I rolled my eyes. She gave a laugh before slithering down to cuddle with Danny and Terri. I never found out if Danny and Terri made it out of the jungle alive so I always promised myself to name two of my children after them. Luna quickly fell asleep amongst them and I walked over to the children's sleeping areas to make their beds ready.

"They never can stay awake during bath time," Szayel muttered quietly as he exited the bathing area holding three sleeping children.

"You're just very gentle with them so of course they fall asleep," I whispered and we put the children to bed. "They're beautiful," I said softly as Szayel and I went to our own bed and I rested in his arms.

"Yes, they are. Thank you, Michelle," Szayel said as he turned me to face him and gave me a kiss.

"Thank you," I whispered back before we fell asleep together. I had never expected this to happen because of that documentary trip, but I was more than thankful. I had always wanted to see and meet a naga, but now I had found a kingdom of nagas and fallen in love with one. Sure I had to go through a lot of pain and stress to get here now, but I would never trade anything for my loving mate, beautiful children, and great friend.

The End.


End file.
